ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 11 UCF men's soccer team returns to action as they will visit the UConn Huskies for the last time as a conference opponent on Sunday at 7 p.m. A win would extend the Knights' unbeaten streak to 11 matches and represent the 300th victory as a division I program.
The Knights look to continue their winning ways, coming off a 3-2 win in double overtime against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. UCF posted a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the match but saw Tulsa earn the equalizer with less than five minutes remaining in the second half. The win moved the Knights to 8-1-2 on the season and a mark of 2-0-1 in conference play.
THE OPPONENT
The Huskies sit at 4-8-1 on the season and have a mark of 1-2 in American Athletic Conference play. They've lost three of their last four matches, with their lone win coming against Cincinnati. UConn has struggled a bit compared to their past few seasons, as they already have more losses than they did in 2018 when they posted a record of 12-6-2.
Jordan Hall leads UConn in goals and points so far this season. Hall has only played in nine of the Huskies' 13 matches but has posted nine goals and nineteen points. Dayonn Harris leads the team in assists with nine. Gianluca Catalano protects the Huskie net and has a 1.58 goals allowed average and a .632 save percentage.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The Knights are back to their ways of scoring early on in matches. Louis Perez scored just 85 seconds into the Tulsa match and saw Yoni Sorokin add another goal at 14:53. UCF has scored in inside the first 15 minutes in eight of their last nine matches and within the first seven minutes in five of their last six matches. UCF is 7-0-1 when they score within the first 15 minutes of a match.
Perez has found his stride as of late, as he extended his point streak to six matches with his goal against Tulsa. Cal Jennings is riding a three-match point streak, as he registered an assist on the golden goal on Saturday.
A win on Sunday would give UCF their 300th win as a division I program. The Knights earned their first win in DI at Florida Southern, a 4-2 decision on Sept. 15, 1984. UCF picked up their 100th victory in DI at FIU on Oct. 13, 1996 and their 200th at home vs. Cincinnati on Sept. 7, 2007.
BY THE NUMBERS
UConn has been outscored 17-21 so far this season but have posted identical shot attempts as their opponents, each side taking roughly 11 shot attempts per match. The Knights rank sixth in the nation in shot attempts per game with 17.3 and are tied for eighth in the country in goals per game with 2.45. UConn has scored 1.31 goals per game. The Knights hold the top spot in corner kicks, ranking first with a mark of 7.73 corners per game.
The all-time series between the two sides is led by UConn by a count of 7-4-2. The Knights have not lost in their last five meetings with the Huskies, winning four of their last five matches. The only non-victory was a 0-0 draw during the regular season of 2018. Each win was decided by a single goal. With UConn leaving The American at the end of this season, there is no telling the next time these two teams will cross paths.
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